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Get your gardens ready for the 2014 Alley Garden Awards!

Planting a few perennials here and potting some plants there can make a huge difference in improving the aesthetics and safety of your home. In 1992, the Macalester-Groveland Community Council started the Alley Garden Awards, deterring crime by encouraging community beautification. Prepare your alleyside property in time for the Alley Garden Awards and help prevent garage burglaries and other crimes facilitated by unkempt property.

Volunteers will start judging each alley in the neighborhood on Thursday, June 26th and wrap up on Sunday, July 1st. If you see an Alley Garden Award volunteer judge out looking for qualifying gardens, please take the time to thank them for their hard work!

Nominate a great alley garden in your neighborhood:Residents of Macalester-Groveland can nominate their own or a neighbor’s garden (or both!) for an Alley Garden Award. Please complete the nomination form online (available June 1) and submit it to the council office between Friday, June 1 and Monday, June 23, 2014. Forms will also be available to download and send in. No nominations will be accepted after Monday, June 23rd. Learn more here: www.macgrove.org/aga

Awards are given to any garden that meets the following criteria:

1. The property must have an easily recognizable house number on the garage (or elsewhere in the alley if there is no garage).2. The garden must be along the alley and on the alley side of any fence.3. The alley garden must be weed-free and well-maintained along the entire property line.4. The alley side of the property must positively contribute to the character and beauty of the alley by being litter free and neat.5. The garden fits the following definition as an area of land (which can also be contained within pots) used for the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, herbs, or fruit.

In the fall, all Alley Garden Award winners will be invited to a ceremony to recognize their efforts to beautify their alleys and reduce crime in their neighborhood.